Crispy Crunchy Baked Fish Sticks W/ Herbed Yogurt Sauce

I wanted to make something new and fun for Katie (that B and I could eat for dinner too!) and just couldn’t get fish sticks off the brain.

Now, traditionally speaking Fish Sticks and Tartar Sauce do not exactly fall into the “nutritious meals” category BUT by making a few simple changes to this dish we can easily change that.

So here are my three simple tricks to creating a Clean & Delicious® Fish Stick Dinner:

Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs. Instead of breading my fish in white flour or refined bread crumbs I used whole wheat Panko. Not only so we get the added nutrients and fiber but the Panko makes the breading extra crunchy!

Bake. Bake. Bake! Traditionally fish sticks are deep fried which is definitely not a “Clean” method of cooking. SO instead of frying, crank those ovens nice and high and bake the fish sticks in the oven. The results are surprisingly delicious and I promise you still get A LOT of crunch factor! (no soggy fish sticks around here).

Greek Yogurt. As many of you already know, I LOVE mayo and am not always willing to give it up if it means sacrificing flavor BUT in this recipe I didn’t miss it one bit!All the flavors that I added to the creamy Greek yogurt made the perfect dip for the fish sticks with out having to use one drop of mayo.

Okay, okay, so I know what you are thinking, “sure Dani, these steps seem easy enough but I need to know, DID IT TASTE GOOD?”.

Well my friends, why don’t you just take a looksie for yourselves:

Katie LOVED them and Kids don’t lie!

Katie has no problem spitting out something she doesn’t like or kindly throwing it onto the floor if it doesn’t meet her “taste expectations” and as you can see, there was none of that going on with our Fish Sticks.

These Fish Sticks were crispy, crunchy on the outside and nice and tender and flakey on the inside! It was a meal that our whole, little, happy family of three was able to enjoy together!

Katie even liked the Herbed Yogurt Sauce that was made up of Greek yogurt, lemon, horseradish and parsley:

And so did we!!

The fish and the sauce were AMAZING the next day on some whole wheat bread with crunchy lettuce and a big fat tomato SO if you have any leftovers you can have one heck of a lunch to look forward to the next day!!

So tell me… did you eat fish sticks growing up? Do you like Fish Sticks?? Have you ever tried breading them and if so what were the results?

Directions:

Cut tilapia into strips by cutting in half lengthwise once and then again.Then cut in half horizontally to create strips.

Place the egg in a large bowl and generously season with salt and pepper.In another bowl combine, Panko, garlic powder, and olive oil.Dip the tilapia into the egg (shaking off an excess) and then into the Panko.Press Panko crumbs on to the fish to be sure that they stick and then place each breaded strip onto the prepared baking sheet.

Pop in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes or until cooked through.Sprinkle with a little more salt as soon as you pull them put of the oven.Serve along side Herbed Yogurt Sauce* and enjoy!

Herbed Yogurt Sauce

In a small bowl combine yogurt, parsley, mustard, lemon juice and horseradish sauce.Enjoy!

Thanks for the web site. I’m a new viewer/reader and just love it. My first comment was on your delicious looking blueberry protein pancakes. Yum!
These fish sticks look wonderful. Bet it would be good as chicken strips/nuggets too! Keep up the wonderful site!
BTW: Beautiful baby!

You just made me crave fish sticks! Yum! I know Nico would love them since he eats everything these days (except grilled cheese, what is UP with THAT??) and I’m pretty sure Alex would like them too. I had some not so happy experiences with whole wheat panko previously but I think I need to switch my brand. YUMYUMYUM. Love the sauce too, will def try that.
ps. Katie is getting so big! So adorable 🙂

As a long time fish stick lover, these look delicious and I can tell Katie loved them. It warms my heart to see little ones enjoying healthy food. I might have to add a few chopped capers and/or pickles to your dip to make it a bit more like traditional tartar sauce!

These are the best fish sticks I’ve ever had. I think next time I may try marinating the fish for about 20 minutes in some lemon juice, salt and pepper, just to add a little more lemony flavor. I used cod, as that’s what I had. Also, I put dill instead of parsley and added garlic to the sauce as well. I was wondering if you could do the panko without the oil in it, but spray it with cooking spray instead? I’ve done that with regular bread crumbs before, and it worked good, but I’m not sure if it would still have that nice crispy coating. I’m excited to see your other recipes, especially for healthy lunch/on the go food! Great site!

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Healthy eating made easy!

Hi, I’m Dani. I'm a Health, Wellness & Weight Loss Coach, Mom of two, and the Founder of Clean & Delicious®. I'll show you how to make healthy eating CRAZY-easy and insanely DELICIOUS! Learn more about me.